Restraining devices are broadly described herein, more particularly a tie for securing one or more objects such as cables, wires or conduits in a bundle or to another object.
Existing cable ties take several forms. The most elementary example is a wire which is either bare or is coated with insulation and which is twisted around one or more cables which it is desired to bundle together. A more popular cable tie which is now used is a preformed plastic strip having teeth which pass through a catch box, where the teeth engage a complemental restraint which locks the end of the tie in place.
The disadvantages of the prior art devices described above are several. First, with many types of cable, especially low voltage computer cables, the cable is sensitive to binding and it is frequently the case that the cable tie is tightened too tightly so that it adversely affects the performance of the equipment being fed by the cable. If an uncoated wire is utilized as the tie, significant damage to the cable or cables being secured may result.
Flexible conduits such as hoses and tubing are similarly sensitive to binding. Their lumens may become narrowed or partially occluded if a cable tie is overtightened, diminishing the rate of flow of liquid or gasses carried by the conduits.
Another disadvantage of the prior art, even when utilizing the more popular plastic cable ties described above, is that there is no way to judge when the tie is properly secured. Since there is no margin for error, the tie may be too tight and may adversely affect performance without the knowledge of the installer who applied the tie.
Another disadvantage of prior art ties is that once they are tightened, they cannot be released without use of a cutting tool, which destroys the tie.
Another disadvantage of prior art ties is that, even when installed properly so as not to bind the cable during normal use, if the cable is bent around a corner there is the possibility that of the cable becoming pinched and adversely affected, even though this was not the case when the cable was laid out in a straight line.
Still another disadvantage of prior art tie constructions is that for the most part they require two hands to bring the cable tie around the cable and secure it to other cables in the bundle or to another object.
Elongated members such as cables or piping are often supported in building areas such as plenums by elongated channel structures, often referred to as channel struts. A length of channel strut is typically formed by a web, flanges extending from side edges of the web, and inwardly directed rims along outer edges of the flanges. The rims form shoulders. Hanger devices are engaged with the shoulders at any needed locations along the strut to support the cable or pipe.
Existing hanger structure for use with channel struts generally requires fasteners such as screws or, alternatively, they may require special tools for installation. The installation of such hanger structure is time consuming and they often cannot be easily repositioned. Moreover, such structure is typically designed for mounting in a single orientation, so that the cables are strung in either the longitudinal direction of the support or transverse to the direction of the support, but they are not shiftable between the two.
Examples of devices that include a rectangular nut with a threaded central bore for receiving a fastener include U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,356 issued to Travis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,857 issued to Grice et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,523 issued to Daigle et al. In these devices, the rectangular nut is sized for reception within the channel when the elongate sides of the nut are positioned in line with the channel. The rectangular nut must then be rotated 90° to position the elongate sides of the nut perpendicular to the channel so that the device will be supported on the inwardly turned sidewalls of the strut.